Description: The carpet python’s colour varies from a greenish-brown to a blackish-brown and is marked with numerous irregular cream or yellow to pale brown blotches. The carpet python’s belly is white to cream, sometimes marked with bold black blotches.

Diet: The carpet python is a carnivore and feeds on small mammals, birds and the occasional reptile.

In the wild: The South-west Carpet Python is mainly nocturnal but is sometimes seen basking in the sun and moving about during the day. The carpet python finds shelter in areas such as hollow tree limbs, rock crevices and even the burrows of other animals.

Like many other pythons, the South-west Carpet Python cares for its eggs and keeps them warm until they hatch. After the snakes emerge from the eggs, they are left to fend for themselves.

Threats: Habitat destruction is a major threat to the South-west Carpet Python, especially with large scale development on the Swan Coastal Plain. Bushfires and predation from feral cats and foxes has also contributed to its declining populations.

At Perth Zoo: The South-west Carpet Python is on display in the Reptile Encounter.